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TASCAM DA-78HR
11 - Maintenance, etc.
11.1Head and transport cleaningThe DA-78HR incorporates an internal cleaning
mechanism that not only cleans the rotary head, but
also the tape as it enters the tape path. The provision
of this cleaning mechanism significantly reduces the
need for manual cleaning. If, despite the internal
cleaning mechanism, the PB CONDITION in dicator
6 lights, the heads are dirty and manual cleaning
proced ures sho ul d be fol l o w ed.
NOTE
S—IMPORTANT
Use a TEAC HC-8 cleaning tape (recommended) or a dry
cleaning tape specially designed for Hi8 8mm video
equipment.
NEVER use a wet-type cleaning tape, as this will result in
winding problems.
The u s e of th e dry t ape wi ll redu ce the hea d life o f
the DA- 78HR by about five h ours . Use of m a nual
cleaning is therefore discouraged.
We recommend the following schedule (based on our
experience with the DTRS system) for cleaning and
maintenance schedules. See 11.1.3, “Checking drum
time” below for details of how to check head usage
time.
The above cleaning cycle timings are based on the
assumption that th e DA-78HR is being operated in a
clean environment. A dusty or smoky atmosphere
will shorten the time between cleaning operations
NOTE
Most name brand tapes are of very high quality. How-
ever, it is sometimes possible to receive “bad” stock
which exhibits excessive shedding characteristics. If
you receive such tape stock, stop using it immedi-
ately, and fo ll o w th e c l ean i ng pro c ed ur e as de sc ribed
below.
11.1.1To clean the h eads and tran sport
1Press the SHIFT key so tha t th e SHIFT indicator
is flashing, and press the MENU key until the
display show s MAINTN-- (MA INTN--—
maintenance).
2Press the S UB MENU key until the display
briefly shows CLE N. ;;;; (CLEN xx xx), fol-
lowed by Clen. OFF (CLEN OFF).
Here, the xxxx represents the number of times
cleaning has been performed.
3Use the ▲ key to chang e OFF to ON (ON).
If a tape has already been loaded, it will auto-
matically be ejected.
Pressing ▼ at this point will show the previous
display.
4Insert the cleaning tape.
5The cleaning tape will “play” for about 5 sec-
onds (the display will show Clean ing
(CLEANING)) and then be ejected automati-
cally. The cleaning counter (number of times
the heads have been cleaned) will be incre-
mented by one.
• Do not attempt to rewind or fast forward the clean-
ing tape, either in the DA-78HR or in a video unit.
Simply insert it in to the DA-78HR when you use it
the next time.
• Excessive cleaning can cause excessi ve wear on the
heads. Do not clean the heads too frequently, and
never perform the head cleaning procedure more
than 5 times running.
• In addition to cleaning the heads, we recommend
that you have the DA-78HR checked by an autho-
rized TASCAM service technician every 500 hours
or so of use.
11.1.2Checking error rates
If yo u he ar nois e and di stor t ion on pl aybac k, even
after cleaning the heads, or if you are presented with
a tap e o f dubi ou s quali t y, you ma y want t o check th e
block error rate of the tape.
1Press the SHIFT ke y so th at the SHIFT i ndicator
is flashing, and press the MENU key until the
display show s MAINTN-- (MA INTN--—
maintenance).
2Press the S UB MENU key until the display
shows B. E. R. OFF(BER OFF ).
3Use the ▲ and ▼ keys to change OFF to ON.
The PB CONDIT ION indicator will start to
flash .
Every 350 to 40 0
hours Perfor m manua l cl eaning of h eads a nd
guide s as de scr ibed be low. Check the
tape path alignment after cleaning. This
requires prop er t es t and measurem ent
equip ment, and s ho uld be per form ed
only b y qualified service p ersonnel.
Every 1000 hours
(ever y th i r d
cleani ng)
A comp let e alignment ch eck should be
perf ormed.